Enough about Texas--it feels good to be back in the place I really love.

Now, perhaps my future as a drinks writer was predictable given my childhood love of root beer. I loved it so much as a 10-year-old that I was consistently able to taste the root beer blind at restaurants and accurately guess the producer--Fanta, A&W, Mug, whatever it may be. That deep love lives on, so it's hard to convey how pleasantly surprised I was to find homemade root beer at the Magnolia Brewery and Pub. Creamy and delicious, one of its best attributes is that it's not too sweet.



By the way, I'm also a freak for onion rings--and Magnolia's might be the best I have ever tasted.